AIDS in South Africa

Leave them be

South African scientists deplore their government's meddling

“THERE is no interference from the government into the work of scientists,” said Essop Pahad, minister of the presidency and one of Thabo Mbeki's closest advisers. “The active issue of science has to be sorted out by the scientists together, the orthodox and the dissidents. It has nothing to do with us.” If only that were true.

Last week, the Lancet, a medical journal, published a letter from 22 of South Africa's leading scientists. They complained about their government's lack of regard for scientific facts. In particular they worried about its refusal, in defiance of a High Court ruling issued in December and reiterated last week, to allow widespread provision of nevirapine, a drug that limits mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The government says it questions the reliability of the trials of nevirapine, which were conducted in Uganda, and that it will wait for South Africa's own 18 test sites to provide results before expanding availability. Coming from an administration known for its misgivings about the use of anti-AIDS drugs, this scientific fastidiousness seems unconvincing.

South African politicians insist that they are worried about the long-term cost and efficacy of such drugs, and fret that western drug makers may use the country as a testing ground for markets elsewhere. Yet South Africa's citizens are starting to clamour for more effective action against AIDS, and particularly for the use of drugs. So the government is unhappy when scientists demonstrate that South Africa has a large AIDS problem and that drugs could be used to help tackle it.

The nation's politicians do take an extraordinary interest in the science of AIDS. Mr Mbeki is fond of trawling the Internet for information on it. He has also given public warnings of the toxicity of some anti-retroviral drugs, arguing that they might be as deadly as the disease itself. Mr Mbeki's party, the African National Congress, says it is “duty-bound to pose scientific questions” rather than be “stampeded into precipitate action by pseudo-science, an uncaring drive for profits.”

But politicians are doing much more than asking questions. Malegapuru Makgoba, who heads the country's Medical Research Council (MRC), accused the government of intimidating scientists and meddling in their work. Last year, the MRC concluded a report from five years of research, which was leaked to the press. It showed a shocking rise in deaths among young people in South Africa, where an estimated 5m people carry HIV. Government officials rubbished those findings, which suggested that AIDS is the country's leading killer. Officials have launched an inquiry into who leaked the report, though the MRC is meant to be an independent organisation. Journalists are being asked to sign letters assuring the government that they did not receive the information from Dr Makgoba.

Dr Makgoba says he and many of his colleagues have been bullied by Mr Pahad. The scientist accuses the minister of threatening that he will be fired and “forgotten by history” for opposing the government policy and statements on AIDS. “Part of his portfolio is to phone and threaten scientists. He is trying to play political games, to overrule science with politics. It is very frightening.”

No scientist likes to see political rhetoric interfere with the dissemination of properly conducted research. Much less do they enjoy having to tolerate politicians who limit their debates and block publication of studies that could help researchers to gauge the impact of deadly diseases. Mr Makgoba knows he has made powerful enemies by complaining publicly, but argues something must be done to preserve the reputation of South Africa's scientists. “If you set such precedents of central political control, how can scientists work to inform the public and our peers around the world?”